(audio) Decarbonisation and climate change: looking ahead

Decarbonisation is at the heart of EU energy and climate policy. And the recent ratification of the Paris Agreement makes decarbonisation targets some of the EU’s most important international commitments.

Progress towards the 2020 targets has been impressive. But the 2020 framework is now being replaced by new targets. The EU wants an 80-95 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, with an intermediate target of 40 percent by 2030.

We asked Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow at Bruegel, what progress the EU has already made towards its climate targets and what will change with the new emission targets.

We also spoke with Georg Zachmann, Senior Research Fellow at Bruegel, about the recent drop in Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and the future of EU’s emission trading scheme.

Lászlo Varro, chief economist at the International Energy Agency, shared his insights on which energy sources will be most important in the future.

We discussed with Connie Hedegaard, former European Commissioner for Climate Action, which other sectors need to be prioritised in the fight against climate change.